Chapter 8 Jealousy Leads to a Kiss
Song Zhaohan has always been an arrogant person. He wants to get whatever he likes. Since he has taken a liking to Zhu Xuanning, he will not compromise himself.
He pressed down on her, right there in the courtyard of the Rongguo Mansion, amidst the artificial hills, grinding his lips against Zhu Xuanning's again and again, swallowing her soft sobs.
Those desires surged forth from his limbs and bones.
Song Zhaohan only released her when she felt a sharp pain in her lower body.
Zhu Xuanning suppressed her sobs, her eyes, nose, and lips were all red, and her tears fell silently into Song Zhaohan's heart.
"I am a girl from a good family. My uncle is Scholar Zhu of the Hanlin Academy." Zhu Xuanning clutched her clothes tightly, emphasizing her identity, as if this would scare away this lecherous man.
The girl's pale face and vibrant blush intertwined to create a captivating scene, yet little did she know that this appearance would only make people want to bully her even more.
Song Zhaohan smiled, said "Oh," and slowly uttered, "Scholar Zhu, you are indeed someone who can reach the ears of the Emperor. But do you know who I am?"
Zhu Xuanning shook her head, sobbing, as anxious as a fawn.
The light in Zhu Xuanning's tearful eyes suddenly went out. She dared not cry loudly, like pear blossoms shaken by the rain, adorning the ground with a poignant beauty.
Song Zhaohan lowered her eyes, feeling the strange emotions that kept tugging at her heartstrings by the crying, and chuckled: "Crying like this, it really makes my heart ache."
Song Zhaohan released Zhu Xuanning: "I'm in a good mood, so I'll let you off the hook. Answer me, how much did you hear while hiding here?"
This cowardly fellow didn't even hear his own identity, so there's no need to kill him. After all, his beauty is rare in this world, and even his crying is alluring; he felt a certain fondness for him.
"I don't know, I forgot." Zhu Xuanning didn't directly answer that she hadn't heard anything. She was worried that this man had servants secretly watching her since she accidentally entered this place.
The girl choked up, clearly terrified of people, yet she tried her best to look at him with her beautiful, tearful eyes, tightly gripping Song Zhaohan's sleeve, repeating the same sentence over and over again.
Even when Zhu Xuanning cries, she looks delicate and beautiful; Song Zhaohan's heart has indeed softened.
"I understand. You can accept what happened today. I'll have a servant cover up the red marks for you, and you can leave in a bit."
Zhu Xuanning's crying stopped for a moment. Her tearful eyes stared blankly at the person in front of her, like a silly rabbit, wondering how she had escaped danger so easily.
"What? I'm letting you go, and you're still not happy? You want to be intimate with me again?" Song Zhaohan couldn't help but laugh when he saw how adorable Zhu Xuanning was, revealing a sharp little tiger tooth, and said in a casual tone.
Zhu Xuanning was so frightened that she started crying again. Song Zhaohan laughed and stopped teasing her. She called a servant and then left the rockery.
Before leaving, the boy pressed her down and kissed her forcefully: "Remember, my name is Song Zhaohan. Stay away from me. If you mess with me again, it won't be that simple."
He suppressed the surging desire in his eyes, his gaze lingering subtly sweeping over the girl's fair earlobe as he spoke softly.
Few women could evoke even a modicum of his pity, so he decided to give them a chance to escape from his side.
If there is a next time, it will be because Heaven wants him to have this person.
After Song Zhaohan left, a servant came forward to apply a hot egg to her eyes to reduce the swelling, and applied a secret ointment from the palace to her lips to reduce the swelling. Before long, the maid restored her makeup perfectly.
Before the maid led her away, Zhu Xuanning glanced at the area beneath her embroidered shoes.
There, she was stepping on the beads that had fallen when she was pinned against the artificial hill and kissed.
Danger always presents an opportunity, and Zhu Xuanning had been planning all of this ever since she realized someone was behind her.
Although she didn't like Song Zhaohan, she liked the power behind her, which was an opportunity to bring her into the top echelons of the Kyoto elite.
Upon learning that Zhu Xuanning had left safely, a hint of malice appeared in Song Zhaohan's thick eyebrows. She suspected that her political enemies had leaked her whereabouts, but that didn't make sense: "Who led her here?"
The guard immediately reported this.
It was just a minor squabble between noble ladies, but by sheer chance, Zhu Xuanning stumbled upon such a huge secret.
At this moment, the panting in the back garden had not yet subsided. Song Zhaohan stood under the eaves, looking at the source of the sound from the rockery, and a cold smile slowly appeared on his lips. He changed out of the fox fur coat that Zhu Xuanning had previously soaked with tears: "Take care of everything. Don't let this matter reach my cousin's ears."
Whether they did it unintentionally or intentionally, he only knew the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free."
With just one sentence, the fate of those noble ladies was sealed.
"Master, that young lady arrived midway and should have heard everything," the guard continued to report.
Song Zhaohan gave a soft "hmm," holding the broken beaded flower, now cleaned of mud, in his hand. He couldn't help but recall the delicate, helpless look on the face of the flower's owner when he pressed her against the artificial hill and demanded a kiss.
Song Zhaohan laughed, the smile dispelling the hint of malice, and replied nonchalantly, "She can't even tell if it's my voice. Such a timid person, all alone here, how could she dare to tell anyone? I reckon she might even have a high fever when she gets back to the manor tonight. If you don't believe me, come with me to the Zhu manor tonight and see for yourself."
Whether it was the guards who didn't believe it, or Song Zhaohan herself who wanted to see it, is self-evident.
When Zhu Xuanning was found by Zhu Baoyue, her face was slightly pale. She simply used the excuse that she had gotten separated from Pomo and was lost to make up the story.
Seeing Zhu Xuanning's somewhat startled expression, Zhu Baoyue felt extremely guilty.
Fortunately, the ink spill didn't cause any harm. Ru Yu brought her back, and when she saw Zhu Xuan Ning return safely, she almost burst into tears.
Ruyu maintained a composed expression, offered a few words of comfort to the two young ladies, and only left after confirming that Zhu Xuanning was alright.
She returned to the men's section and whispered in Mei Jiashan's ear. Mei Jiashan, who had been smiling, gradually softened the curve of her lips.
"Young Master Mei, is there something urgent you need to attend to?" The burly, dark-skinned young man with strong features asked curiously beside Mei Jiashan.
Mei Jiashan knew what was important and naturally shook his head with a smile: "It's not a big deal. We can deal with it after the banquet. I just agreed to compete with the young general, how can I leave like this?"
Wei Xiuqi immediately perked up and quickly called for a servant to bring over some arrows: "Let's have a good competition! If we enjoy ourselves, I'll consider you my friend!"
Winning or losing is secondary; the important thing is to become friends with Mei Jiashan! Their Zhenguo Mansion had their eyes on him as early as when he infiltrated the Kyoto circle.
Although he was a merchant, Mei Jiashan was a scholar, good-looking, and the next heir to the family business.
Wei Xiuqi's special trip to the Rongguo Mansion for the banquet was at his father's behest. If Mei Jiashan is a good match, he will give her to his younger sister. What a lucky break for this kid!
When Wei Xiuqi thought about his younger sister possibly marrying Mei Jiashan, his happy expression faded a bit, and he immediately became aggressive. He was determined to give Mei Jiashan a hard time first!
Mei Jiashan looked gentle and unassuming, but unexpectedly she was extremely skilled at pitch-pot, scoring almost the same as Wei Xiuqi, leaving the surrounding guests stunned.
This lively atmosphere naturally reached the female guests as well.
Many banquets have a layer of mutual appreciation involved, so in most banquets, the male and female guests are separated only by a winding corridor, and the Rongguo Mansion is no exception.
Since the game of pitch-pot takes place in a spacious area that is open to the public, many young men would walk toward the pavilion and watch with blushing faces.
The restrictions on women in the Great Zhou Dynasty were more relaxed than in previous dynasties. If a woman fell into the water and was rescued by a man, it was not considered a loss of her reputation. However, if she was caught having a secret rendezvous with a man and having physical contact with him, that would be a loss of her reputation.
Zhu Baoyue wanted to distract Zhu Xuanning and make her forget what had happened, so she also dragged Zhu Xuanning to watch the male guests play the game of pitch-pot.
"Look! That's my cousin competing with General Wei!" Zhu Baoyue was very excited when she saw that the person competing was Mei Jiashan.
Zhu Baoyue's voice was not soft, which attracted many young ladies.
“Baoyue, that’s actually your cousin?” Zhu Baoyue’s playmates walked over, one of the girls blushing and staring intently.
Zhu Baoyue, who was initially excited, immediately frowned: "Didn't you understand what I said? Why are you asking me?"
"Come on, this spot isn't very good, let's go see my cousin over there." Since her older cousin was already playing with her, Zhu Baoyue didn't want to pay any attention to these naughty kids. She pulled Zhu Xuanning away, completely ignoring her playmates with their stiff expressions.
"Miss, come this way." Ruyu had already come out when the banquet was in full swing.
Mei Shuxian gave birth to the heir that the Rongguo Mansion had been waiting for for more than ten years. Therefore, when the Zhu family came to congratulate them, the Rongguo Mansion also valued the Zhu family very much. This is how Ruyu reserved a good position for the two young ladies.
The arrival of the pampered guests naturally did not escape the notice of the young men.
They blushed and secretly glanced at the noble ladies who were walking by.
"Cousin! I believe in you!" Zhu Baoyue shouted to Mei Jiashan from afar, attracting the attention of several young men.
They were stunned by that one glance out of the corner of their eye.
Mei Jiashan heard Zhu Baoyue's shout and turned around, but dared not meet Zhu Xuanning's gaze.
He was afraid that people would notice something was wrong, so he just calmly responded, but he was overjoyed inside.
At this moment, the audience cheered, and Wei Xiuqi won again.
"It has an end! Ten points have been awarded!"
Zhu Baoyue watched anxiously, grabbing Zhu Xuanning's sleeve and refusing to let go: "General Wei is probably going to finish what he started. Unless my cousin can throw the tail or the head of the dragon, he won't be able to win."
"Can my cousin throw it out?" Zhu Xuanning asked.
As soon as she finished speaking, the crowd erupted into a clamor, with young noblemen surrounding Mei Jiashan and laughing.
Zhu Xuanning saw the arrow fly out of Mei Jiashan's hand and hit the mouth of the pot.
"It's a tie! It's a tie!" Zhu Baoyue shook Zhu Xuanning's sleeve, excited and satisfied.
My cousin is already quite impressive to be able to fight General Wei to a draw. Even if he didn't win, it wouldn't matter!
Zhu Xuanning laughed as well, her gaze shifting to the young men in the hall. Mei Jiashan and Wei Xiuqi were surrounded by people chatting and laughing, but they didn't spare any attention for others.
Zhu Xuanning turned her head slightly, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly. Just as she was about to look away, she met the gaze of another person.
She swayed as she stood, then hurriedly looked away and lowered her head.
What an arrogant member of the royal family! After having an affair with the young lady in the master's back garden, he can still attend the party so calmly.
Zhu Xuanning felt that she had much more to learn than Song Zhaohan.
"Is Mei Si her cousin?" Zhu Xuanning was so beautiful, she seemed to glow. Song Zhaohan glanced at the approaching guest casually, but her eyes immediately fell on her.
Song Zhaohan saw Zhu Xuanning looking at Mei Jiashan from afar, and his expression darkened. Just a moment ago, this person was weeping like a flower with dew in front of him, but now she was looking at someone else with such affectionate eyes.
"In reply to you, sir, that is indeed the case. Miss Zhu traveled to the capital on the boat of the young master of the Mei family."
Song Zhaohan put her teacup down on the table and immediately smiled: "Oh, it's a connection we share as colleagues."
After saying that, Song Zhaohan kicked the servant's calf, not very hard, but enough to vent his displeasure: "I said he was her cousin, and you agreed."
"If I said Mei Si was my cousin, would you dare to just say it?"
The servant turned pale with fright and was about to kneel when Song Zhaohan forcefully blocked his calf, stopping his movement.
"What kind of cousin is he? One is a distant relative of Scholar Zhu, and the other is the son of Madam Zhu's cousin. They can only barely be considered related when they come to beg for money." Song Zhaohan sneered, then stood up and left the room ahead of time.
Before Song Zhaohan boarded the carriage, his personal attendant asked, "Master, are you going out again tonight?"
"Go, why wouldn't you go?"
He not only wanted to go, but he also wanted to let this person know that her cowardly cousin, whom she had been watching from afar, was not much better than him!
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